


Follow Her Down

by NadieWorth



Series: The Others' Story [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Arts, Dysfunctional Family, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Forbidden Love, Humor, M/M, Multi, No Plot/Plotless, References to Depression, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-09-23 01:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9635666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NadieWorth/pseuds/NadieWorth
Summary: "'Why are things like this?' asked the older twin. Her sister stared at her.'I don't know. No one said it would feel like this' she replied, monotonous."Prudence and Camelia Rhodes are young twins that will find out that things aren't as easily as everyone told them, specially when one of them decides to drag the other towards some forbbiden practices, after she herself being drown by them.





	1. Among Ours

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone is wondering, yes: Prudence and Camelia are my two to-go characters always. It's always fun to use them, specially Prue, in everything.
> 
> Also, as I always say, english isn't my first language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. By the way, if you enjoy more spanish, I'll add the story later on this same account, since it is my native language.
> 
> That's it. Thanks for your comprehension~.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prudence and Camelia return to the Diagon Alley to buy the last things they need for their third year at Hogwarts, and in the process, the stumble across some good friends as well as old enemies

"Wakey, wakey, wakey~!" sang a voice in her ear. The black-haired girl rolled in the bed, glancing at her twin with annoyance. She had been awake for a good while, but the screams downstairs made her want to stay in bed all day long.

"Shut up, Camelia, and go to sleep" growled Prudence. Her older twin simply smiled at her in a cocky attitude.

"Aww... did I wake up the princess?" she moked. Prue stared at her so coldly she could've freezed the sun. "C'mon, Prue, lighten up! We're going to the Alley! Doesn't that make you happy?"

"It brings me no happiness the fact that I have to go with your parents to buy my stuff" replied Prue, sitting on the bed and throwing Camelia to the floor in the process. The ginger whimpered.

"You speak as if my parents weren't yours too" she said, standing up and rubbing her butt. "It hurt me, y'know?"

"I'm not sorry" said Prue. She sighed, trying to undertand what was the cause of her parents' fight. Last night it was because of the jam; maybe now it was because of the milk. "Do you think they'll get divorced?" she asked her twin. Camelia raised a brow.

"What are you talking 'bout?" she asked back. Prue shook her head.

"Forget it" she said. Camelia was childish and naive, the kind of young teen that believes love lasts forever and life is pink. Prue, on the other hand, was a very intelligent and observer girl that knew way more than what a thirteen years old should. She saw everything, and she knew the relation of her parents was going down to hell, even if she didn't undertand it all. In any case, she didn't want a divorce because that will mean she and Camelia would go separate ways.

The girls stayed in silence, Prue listening to the fight and Camelia looking around. It wa maybe the third time in her life that Prue allowed her to be in her room, and to be honest, it was quite less organized than what she expected for someone like Prue.

When the fight ended, Camelia took Prue by the hand and dragged her downstairs, finding their mother on the kitchen and their father in the porch smoking a cigarette. Prue went to sit to her sofa, turning on the TV. There she could stay all day long if she wanted to, since her parents would almost never notice her.

"Are we going to the Alley soon?" she heard Camelia asked to her mother. God, she could be annoying.

"Yes we do" replied Blanc in a soft voice. It didn't matter how angry she was, she would always be nice to Camelia. Maybe too nice. "Are you ready? Good. And your sister?"

Call Prue 'your sister' was more common than calling her 'our daughter', though Prue liked it that way.

"I'm sure she can be ready like, in five minutes" laughed Camelia. Prue ignored the rest of the chat, focusing in the TV show. It really wasn't exciting for her the trip to Diagon Alley. Of course, she enjoyed the place and everything it had to offer, but the idea of expending a whole day with her parents dragging her from a store to another was plainly horrible. The worst part was that there was no escape. Nor the trip, nor her parents.

"I'll do your hair!!" squealed Camelia a while later, and Prue ran upstairs to get ready by herself. Camelia could do whatever she liked, but not mess with her hair. She sighed. It was going to be such a long day.

  
†

  
Diagon Alley was, as usual, full of wizards and witches. The small family soon found itself saluting old friends, admiring the new broom at the Quidditch store, or planning to get an ice cream at the end of the shopping day. Yes, Camelia was holding Blanc and Fynn's hands, smiling as a child in Christmas, showing the world how happy she was. The adults were happy with each other again, and they followed Camelia's games. And at the far end, following closely, was Prue, wondering how much time it will take to them to notice she was gone if someone kidnapped her.

"This is amazing" said Camelia as they passed again by the Quidditch store. "If I could play Quidditch, I would be the best player ever in Hogwarts!... Well, after Harry Potter" she squealed. Prue wanted to tell her that with her current behavior and attention deficit she wouldn't make it into the team, but she bit her tounge and looked around, disinterested.

"You could even beat Potter!" said Fynn, playful. Camelia laughed and then gasped, excited, looking at something. Prue stretched her neck to see what was it, and she saw one of the persons she knew very well yet always fought: Draco Malfoy.

"Hey, hello there Cam" greeted the priggish boy. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes" he continued. Everyone greeted friendly, and before Prue could say 'potato', Camelia had convinced her parents to end the shopping whitout them, adn she added they would meet later at Florean's ice cream shop.

Of course, before they left, Blanc remembered she had another child besides Camelia. She turned and looked at Prue.

"Take care of your sister" she ordered. Prue nodded and they finally left. Just then Malfoy approached the green-eyed girl.

"I'm surprised they haven't give you in adoption yet" he told her. Prue glanced at him, bored.

"Your parents have insisted in me going with them, but Blanc and Fynn don't want Lucius to despise you even more with me there" she said without the littlest emotion in her voice. Draco frowned and Prue wanted to laugh. When would he learn he would never be able to win her?

Malfoy opted for being smart and left Prue in peace; instead, he started a chat about whatever it came to his mind with his best friend. The teen, for her part, just walked behind them, though she wanted to try and seep in Knockturn Alley. If she didn't do so, was because she was way too lazy.

  
†

  
It had been a good couple of hours and Prue was walking towards the two friends. Bored of doing nothing, the girl occasionally would walk away and then returned. Last time she spotted Luna and Neville, her best friends, and she stayed with them for a while. In the end, they agreed to meet at a certain point in the 9 and 3/4 platform, and then separated.

"Do you know there will be Dementors all over school this year?" was saying Draco to Camelia, catching Prue's attention. Of course, Malfoy knew a ton about those things because of Lucius and his contacts at the Ministery.

"That's horrible... Is because of Sirius Black, right?" asked Camelia. She could be really naive and all, but she was also pretty smart. Not for nothing she was a Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, because of his connection with P-... Oh no, you again?" he growled when he spotted Prue. She, however, wasn't interested in their chat anymore, as she walked right next to them. Camelia and Draco found this strange, and decided to follow Prue.

When they reached Prue, Draco regretted following her, since she was with his parents.

"Ah, there they are!" exclaimed Narcissa when she saw her son and his friend. The woman greeted them, radiant as always. Lucius simply moved his head as a greeting to Camelia.

"Have Pennyworth already told you that her parents are waiting for us at Florean's?" asked Draco, and Prue shot a cold stare at him. If ther was some place in the world Prue despised, it was Florean's. That along with having to be there with Blanc, Fynn, and Malfoy, was the death to her.

"Really? Well, let's go then" sentenced Mr. Malfoy with that arrogant smile on his lips. Prue sighed and shrugged, walking between Lucius and Narcissa while Camelia and Draco walked behind them, still talking, but in low voice now.

"I've been thinking about you staying in the Manor with us this holidays" said Narcissa to her husband and to Prue. She raised her brows.

"Us, who?" she asked.

"Why, you and your familu, Prue" replied the woman. Prue tilted her head as she tried to picture the escene.

"They'll love the idea, I assure you. We shall ask about this now, before school starts" said Lucius. The three of them continued the conversation, both adults always including Prue in it and waiting for one of her scathing opinions.

Even when the infamous ice cream shop appeared, Prue's mood was calm, and all thanks to the company of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They were all she needed to feel appreciated. They were enough to compensate the parents she didn't have.

  
†

  
Around six or so in the afternoon, Diagon Alley became such a peaceful place. That was because most people went there to do their things in the morning and early day, so towards the night almost no one was left. To be fair, one could say only the Rhodes and the Malfoys remained there. Almost everyone was sitting in a table outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Creams, excepting Camelia and Draco, who played with each other in the middle of the Alley, in front of their families. Prue, instead, was sitting next to Lucius, feeling miserable because of the chocolate ice cream that was in front of her. It didn't matter how much she insisted that she hated those, her parents would always expend their money on one for her. Not even in that they were good.

In any case, Prue wasn't really interested in her ice cream. Her cold green eyes were examining the two teens in front of her, and her active mind asked her how could it be that they were such close friends. Camelia, a sweet, lovable and respectful girl, being friends with a vain, arrogant and annoying brat like Malfoy. She couldn't understand what she saw on him.

"I'll give you a galleon for your thoughts, Prudence" said out of nowhere Lucius, who also seemed not very interested in the chat of his adult friends. Prue tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know how those two can be friends" she confessed. Lucius shrugged.

"Sometimes different people attract each other. they complement the other" he explained. Prue was about to say that was stupid, when she remembered her best friends were totally different to her. She sighed.

"I understand. Do I have to finish it?" she asked, staring with hate at the desert. Lucius did something like a laugh and took the ice cream from her.

"No, you don't have to. So, are you going to expend holidays with us, or you will be staying at Hogwarts?" asked the man. Prue cuddled against his arm, thinking of it. She enjoyed a lot having Hogwarts to herself during holidays, but maybe staying with the Malfoys and Camelia would be fun, or at least she hoped so.

"I'll go" she said, decided. Lucius hugged her.

"Nice. Actually, why don't you spend this last weekend with us? Then we can get the childs to the platform" he added in a louder voice so the others could hear him. The Rhodes agreed and Narcissa immediately started to talk about a nice day playing magic golf.

Prue yawned and pressed her body to the man as Camelia and Draco returned to ask for more ice cream. She soon enough felt a stare of despise on her, so she opened her eyes to meet with Draco's. She felt very amused of him being jealous of her.

"Prudence and Camelia will be staying with us this weekend, Draco" said Lucius. His son didn't know if he should be happy for having more time with Camelia, or angered because Prue would be around to steal mote attention from his father, remembering him how much he loved her.

"Great!" exclaimed Camelia, smiling, while she ate Ten Flavors ice cream. Lucius stared at her coldly and hugged Prue tightly, and she rejoyed in the fact that, for once, she was the loved one and not Camelia or anyone else.


	2. Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a really special morning with Lucius Malfoy, Prue and Camelia finally take the Hogwarts' Express, and the way everyone acts greatly confuses Prue, something that leads her to wonder what she's missing.

Even in a bed as comfortable as the one she had in the Malfoy Manor, Prue still had trouble sleeping and staying like that. It was Sunday, early, and she was already laying face up, staring at the canopy as hypnotized, thinking in everything and nothing. She wasn't going to try and sleep since in a couple hours everyone would wake up and get ready to go to King's Cross, where she and the others would leave for their third year of studies.

Anyway, Prue was getting bored and she exceedingly missed Lucifer, her loyal pet. The big black cat stayed with Luna all the vacations after an incident with the carrier; while Luna got Lucifer, Prue got some invisible creature that was always asleep and of which she couldn't remember its name.

Deciding she should at least be doing something, the teen got out of bed and started to accommodate her trunk in a way it only made sense to her. She was on that when the door of the room opened, and her green eyes ran into intense gray.

"Good morning, Prudence" saluted Lucius. He was already neatly dressed, and Prue wondered if it was already time to wake up everyone. "I'm surprised you're awake so early."

"I'm surprised you came to see me so early" replied Prue. Lucius chuckled and entered the room.

"I'm about to wake up everyone; Narcissa is dressing herself. We will get everything ready, take breakfast, and then go to London" he explained as he sat in the bed. Prue went and sit by his side.

"I see" she said, not knowing what else to add. The man put on that charming smile.

"I've noticed you've changed a lot since the last time I saw you, Prue" he purred. Prue raised a brown and glanced an him, curious. She thought she looked the same as always. "Yes, even if you don't believe it, you look different."

"Oh" she whispered, still without a clue of what to say or do. She was liking the sensation Lucius was giving her by caressing her skin over the clothing.

"You soon will turn into a miss" he added, his hand crawling all the way down to her thigh and staying there, "and I'm anxiously waiting for it" he said, slightly pressing her leg. Then he patted her head as if she was a whelp. "Anyway; hurry up, Prudence. We don't want to take breakfast hurriedly, do we?"

As Lucius walked away, Prue stared at her thigh, intrigued. She still felt the warmth of Lucius' hand in her skin, his fingers and palm pressing against her. She suddenly wanted to feel that same thing again, perhaps on her other leg, or arms, or back, or neck. She also noticed she was trembling slightly. Raising her head, she walked to the mirror; her face was pink. Maybe she was about to get sick, she thought in her naivety.

With that in mind, Prue yawned and decided to abide Lucius' orders, preparing herself for the day she was about to have.

 

†

 

Walk among many people was one of the things Prue least liked, though she hadn't many options. The platform 9 and 3/4 of King's Cross was, as all years, full. There were parents, kids and teenagers everywhere, pushing each others, smashing between themselves, and stomping on poor Prue's feet. Worst thing was that Draco sometimes stomped on her and then played fool, and Prue's patience was reaching it's limit.

"C'mon Prue, we're almost there" consoled Camelia. Prue stared at her with annoyance and sighed heavily.

"Stop it Cam, leave the martyr" growled Draco. Prue turned around.

"I will kick your whimpy ass to show you what's a martyr" she threatened. Draco, being the coward he was, shot her a glare and kept his mouth shut.

"C'mon, Prue..." sighed Camelia. She hated those two couldn't be at peace.

"Almost there" announced Narcissa, and a few minutes later (and more stomping), they arrived to the wagons that corresponded to the teens. "Well, have a good year and don't be troublemakers, okay?" said the woman with a smile.

"Yeah, I'll tie up Prue's hands so she doesn't cause any problem" joked Camelia. Prue rolled her eyes and said her goodbyes to the Malfoys, whilst she and her parents only exchanged a simple 'later'.

"If you change your minds about the holidays, send an owl" said Lucius, and when she looked at him, Prue felt warmth on her leg and face.

"Bye-bye!" exclaimed Camelia, and the three of them entered the train.

Prue, without looking behind, started to walk down the corridor. Luna, Neville and she accorded on get together at the eighth compartment. And since Draco and Camelia didn't have anything better to do, they followed the black-haired.

"Crabbe and Goyle aren't all worried about you, Malfoy?" she growled. She didn't mind Malfoy around, not even Luna would care. But the blond never left Neville to live peacefully, and Prue wasn't going to make a bad time to her friend.

"Draco won't mess with your friends, right?" said Camelia, pinching his arm. He glanced at her with a frown.

"Okay, okay. I won't mess with the freak nor the loser" he grumbled. Prue turned around with speed, and she took out her wand from her jacket just to press it against Malfoy's cheek.

"If you dare to say something else, Malfoy, they'll have to expend hours looking for your little pieces" she barked, exasperated. She beared him all the way, his bad jokes and stomps, but she wouldn't bear him talking shit about the only people in the world she cared about.

"Fuck it, you're crazy!" he squealed and walked away. Prue retrieved her wand and nodded, satisfied, while Camelia did a pout.

"You should be happy now" she recriminated her. Prue rolled her eyes.

"If you want to go with him, do it. But I won't let anyone be rude with my friends" she said. Camelia sighed and shrugged. Prue did the same and then entered the compartment.

"Sincerely, I'll just go. Draco won't let you be if I don't ease him" said Camelia with another sigh. Prue yet again rolled her eyes.

"Now you do care about me?" she growled, slamming shut the door. Camelia growled something back and then left in the same direction Malfoy did.

"Everything okay with Cam?" asked Neville, consternated. Prue shook her head.

"Nothing important, she just likes being dramatic" she said before taking a sit in front of her friends.

They all started chatting, either about Luna's new favourite mythical creatures or Neville's grandmother's adventures. Prue was, as always, just listening. It was very rare that she related something, and Luna and Neville had learned to respect and enjoy her company even with that.

They were in the middle of a school Quidditch chat (critizicing how awful played Slytherin) when the compartment's door opened and a tall, thin and brunette boy stepped in. He was already wearing Ravenclaw's robe, and his name was Alfred LeBlanc, Luna and Camelia's classmate.

"Eh, do you mind? Everywhere else is occupied" he explained with a gentle smile. Luna shrugged and told him to go in.

"Thought you would be with Camelia" she said. Turns out that he and the ginger were really close friends, almost as close as Prue and Neville.

"No, she's with Malfoy and... You know we don't get along well" he said with a grimace. Prue nodded, and taking advantage of LeBlanc's presence, she decided it was a good moment to get lost in thoughts.

She was marveled by the fact that someone like her could be friends with a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, specially when she couldn't bear nor be beared by her housemates. She was thinking of that when she remembered Lucius Malfoy, and then Camelia following that little bastard Malfoy. Why she did so? It was stupid, but it awoken Prue's curiosity. It awoken it so much that she really got lost, and, ironically, made her fall into slumber.

 

†

 

A harsh jerk got Prue out of her sleep. She opened her eyes and looked around, weirded out. She noticed lights were out and her friends looked at each other, equally perturbed. She raised a brow and glanced at the window.

"We haven't arrived to Hogsmade, do we?" she asked. The others shook their heads, and suddenly a chill slipped into the compartment. The temperature was so low that Prue's head and bones started to ache. Luna approached Neville, looking for something warm, and LeBlanc rubbed his hands.

Along with the cold, a feeling of despair filled the hearts of everyone. Prue's worst memories returned and she felt she was living them again. But she didn't allow her mind to go on, because she remembered what was out there: Dementors. She couldn't fall in their game and be overthrow because of all her failures and deceptions.

Luckly for Prue (and all the others) said feelings didn't last long, since out of nowhere a light spectrum appeared, seemingly chasing a black thing that was a Dementor. After that, the lights returned and, a little later, the train started to move.

LeBlanc was opening his mouth to ask what the hell, when, for the third time, the door opened. This time, there were two persons: Camelia and Draco. The first one launched herself to Prue, while Draco only closed the door and stood there, uncomfortable, watching the twins.

"I was worried!" squealed Camelia, hugging Prue with such strength she felt she was about to exploit. "Those were Dementors! I was scared! Are you okay?!"

Prue, tense as a cable because of the sudden physical contact, simply patted Camelia on the back.

"I'm fine" she said without expression, as always. "You?"

"B-better now" said Camelia. She cleared her throat and let go her sister, who looked relieved. "Eh... Sorry. It was the uh, emotion of the moment!"

Prue nodded, and both Camelia and Draco stayed, mostly because of her. The black-haired frowned, but she moved to a side so he could take a seat. She would have protested if they weren't so close to Hogwarts.

Minutes passed by and the ambience loose slowly. In the end, it was Luna who started a conversation about Nargles, gettin everyone's attention. Draco was the only one who didn't care, as he was staring at Prue intensely. It wasn't untill she complained to him that he stopped, but Prue's mind was running at a 100 miles per hour again.

Since when he looked at her in that way?

Hogwarts appeared a couple hours later, and the six teens changed their clothes to their house robes: Luna and Camelia used Ravenclaw's; Neville used Gryffindor's; and Draco and Prue, Slytherin's. without losing time, all of the third year students walked towards the floats, talking about the old and new teachers at the school.

"Do you think Snape finally got it?" asked Camelia with a frown; Severus Snape was her least liked professor.

"I doubt it" said Prue, who had high esteem on the man, "though it would be great. He would do it far better than that idiot of Lockhart."

"Pennyworth is right about that" said Malfoy, making her raise her brows. He cleared his throat and said nothing more.

"Hate to say it, but yeah, is true" growled Camelia. "I hope this year's professor of Defense is at least competent."

Chat continued without incident until they arrived at the castle, where they stepped out of the float and walked upstairs. In the way appeared Pansy Parkinson, Prue's worst enemy. She took Draco by the arm and walked away, not before spitting some swearwords to Prue. She ignored her and continued her way, though she was clearly annoyed.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Luna and Neville said their good-nights and walked to their tables, whilst Alfred vanished without a word. Prue found this strange and asked Camelia. She, for the first time, seemed truly annoyed, and she pointed at a group of people. Somewhere, Prue noticed LeBlanc next to a girl and some of his friends.

"And she is...?"

"Pamela Anderson, second grade, Slytherin" explained Camelia. "She's an annoyance, and she's always stealing Alfred each time we're together. It's been like that since last year or something like that."

"How come that I didn't know?" asked Prue, surprised. Her sister shrugged.

"Guess we don't talk about Alfred that much. In any case, the worst part is that I think he's corresponding her" said Camelia with a slight sadness in her voice. At that, Prue's eyes widened.

"Corresponding, what?" she questioned. Camelia raised a brow, not understanding. Then she patted Prue's head.

"Y'know. Anyways, 'night Prue. See ya tomorrow" she said, smiling, and went to her table. Prue watched her go before sigh and walk to her own table. It was disturbing her that Malfoy wasn't there. Yes, they didn't get along very well, but for whatever reason they kept each other company, and the fact that Parkinson took him with such ease was annoying her.

At any rate, when she arrived at her seat in the Slytherin table, she started a examination of the professors, or at least two of them. She first saw the man that probably was their new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, a thin man that seemed ill, but yet smiled warmly. Next to him was Prue's Head of House, who seemed deeply uncomfortable by the man sitting next to him. Prue tilted her head, wondering why was happening that. Snape turned his head to her direction, and she quickly looked to the other side; she didn't know why, but she didn't want Snape to caught her staring at him.

While Dumbledore gave his usual announcements of beginning of the year, Malfoy and Parkinson went to sit in front of Prue. They were talking in low voice, and Prue was angered because of the blond not even once talked to her. The only thing that lifted her mood was that the Slytherin's ghost, The Bloody Baron, went and sit next to Prue, diminishing the chat of the others since they felt a deep dread for the spectrum.

When they were all dismissed to sleep, Prue felt invisible once more. Usually she would like that, being such a lonely girl, but at that moment she felt unpleased by it. Her only company all the way was the Baron, and he left her at the entrance of the Common Room. She waved him goodbye and walked to her room, where she found Lucifer. She was thankful the room was all to herself since Snape allowed her to sleep alone.

"This year will be awful" she said to the cat. Lucifer yawned and when she laid on the fluffy bed, he sat down next to her. Prue petted him, thousands of doubts crowding on her mind, not even one with an answer or an explanation. She wrinkled her nose and rolled around, realising it had been a long time since she felt so confused.


	3. Hello, Fascination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day starts, and Prue finally gathers the courage to ask Camelia all of her doubts. When she explains, Prue begins to wonder what it would feel like to be in love, not even noticing she's already falling for a certain professor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I'm just too lazy to translate.

Prue was wandering through the dungeons at a far early hour. Last night she couldn't sleep anything because of her doubts, and when she noticed sun was already rising, she decided there was no point in continue lying there. So, she stood up and after brushing her long black hair she exited the room, disposed to marauder for a while. At first she thought about exploring the north zone of the castle, one of the places she least frequented, but then knew that she wanted a more lugubrious zone. And what was more lugubrious than Hogwarts' dungeons?

The girl turned in the corner and saluted politely a pair of walking armors, not paying them that much attention. She was lost in thoughts as usual, making patterns in her mind. It seemed like Draco acted like Alfred, and that Parkinson and Anderson were the causes, while Camelia and herself the ones left over. It was quite obvious if she thought it carefully, but what she didn't know was why that happened to her classmates. Perhaps she could ask Camelia later, if her pride allowed her.

Determined to leave the matter for her peace of mind after having been thinking about it all night, the teen looked for ideas about what to do. It should be an hour or so before breakfast, so she needed to entertain in something. She thought about going for the Baron, or go and wait for Camelia outside her Common Room. She was thinking about try to brush Lucifer when she noted she was in a dangerous zone, since she was in the corridor in which was the office of Satan himself.

Prue could be the teacher's 'favorite', according to her classmates, but that didn't make her immune to his punishments. Last year he threatened her with put her in Detention all weekends (for an anecdote that might be better to tell in other moment), and Prue didn't want to lose her liberty that year. Thus, she turned around and walked, returning the same way she came; but as always, luck wasn't on her side in moments of help.

Snape smiled at her wickedly.

"Good morning, miss Pennyworth" he greeted with that low and mysterious voice of his. Prue started to think in an argument that could get her out of such trouble, meanwhile Snape lost his smile bit by bit; it wasn't normal to see a kid like her with such eye bags under those big emeralds. "Are you feeling well, Pennyworth?"

The question took Prue by surprise. She scratched her neck.

"Yes, professor" she lied. Snape narrowed his eyes, as if deciding he should let her go or not.

"Are you being sincere?"

"Yes, sir" she repeated, scratching her neck again in an unconscious manner. When she looked at Snape, she knew he didn't believe her that much.

"Get out of here before I decide to take points from Slytherin because of you walking where you shouldn't" he growled. Prue nodded and almost ran away. Snape stared at her all the way, wondering why she had insisted so much in lie to him.

Out of the dungeons, Prue's urge to whack her head againts a wall increased. What the hell happened there? She had always been a unreadable girl, no one could ever know what passed through her mind. And yet, Snape seemed to read her like an open book. What was happening? Had she lost her touch? Almost in a panic attack, Prue ran to Ravenclaw Tower. She needed to tell Camelia a lie in order to check if everything was alright.

When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she stumbled across her sister.

"World ends today, you've woken up early" said Camelia, surprised.

"I slept like a baby" said Prue, monotonous. Camelia smiled.

"Really? Great! C'mon, let's have breakfast" replied way too happy. Prue sighed, relieved, though the back of her mind still had no answer.

"Have they already gave you your schedule?" asked the black-haired when they entered the Great Hall. Camelia nodded and took out a parchment from her robes.

"Yeah, you?"

"No, I have to ask one to Jeff. Let me see" said Prue. The twins sat at Ravenclaw's table and Camelia began to serve the breakfast. "Good, you still have Potions with me, and looks like there's going to be more classes this year. We also have Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology and Arithmancy. I thought you would pick Divination" she remarked, returning the schedule to her sister and beggining her breakfast. Camelia shrugged.

"Arithmancy looks funnier. Besides, someone told me the professor is kind of cuckoo" she whispered, and then frowned. "Wait, how are you going to take Arithmancy and Divination if they're at the same hour?"

"I managed to talk about it with the professors before classes... by letters" explained Prue. "I'll be taking one extra hour of class after the end of them. Luckly it only happens twice; once with Divination and once with Care.

"Wow... for a moment there I thought they would've gave you a Time-Turner".

"No, thank Merlin. I would probably just end up playing with it".

The twins continued with her chat, and after a while Luna arrived, for which the conversation changed to more random topics. Prue was even a bit more zippy than the usual, perhaps because of the beggining of classes; the teen was extremely competitive and she loved to show that she was the best one way or another. Maybe she wasn't as direct as that annoying Hermione Granger (a good friend of hers, but she would constantly get her mad), but she did it passively and slowly, and no one had a doubt that she was indeed the best.

However, the gloomy girl shut up when she saw Malfoy and Parkinson. They kept on talking as if time hadn't passed since last night, and Draco was so abstracted in Parkinson that he didn't even greeted Camelia. That fact stung harder Prue's curiosity.

"Hey, little miss punctuality, have you seen the hour?" said the voice of her sister. Prue was surprised, then ate all that was left in her plate in a bite and started walking to Arithmancy. If Camelia and Luna wanted to be late, it was their problem.

 

†

 

Arithmancy turned out to be extremely interesting, and Prue soon enough was at the head of the group, even when almost everyone there were Ravenclaws. Actually, she was the only Slytherin along with Draco, who avoided her all the time, disturbing the girl's mind.

In any case, the next class was Herbology, which Slytherin had with Ravenclaw. Because of that, Luna, Alfred and the twins walked together to the Greenhouse, in a fast pace for Prue's mania to not get even a second later to any place. The two Ravenclaw girls were walking a bit ahead, gossiping about a muggle singer, whilst LeBlanc and Prue walked in silence. As she could tell, Camelia was angry with the boy, and after a while she decided to ask about it.

"Oh! It's just... umm..." began Alfred, uncomfortable. To be honest, Prue was quite intimidating, and he wasn't precisely the bravest. "In the morning we were all chatting about some things and, well, Pamela arrived and I went with her and... that's it. I guess that's why she's angry. She hasn't talked to me since then".

"Why do you act like that with Anderson?" inquired Prue, seeking an oportunity to clear her doubts by a bit. Alfred shrugged and smiled nervously.

"Eh, don't tell anyone, 'kay? I... think I like Pamela" he whispered, making sure the ginger didn't hear him. Prue raised a brow and then snorted.

"What? You also like Camelia, and I guess I do too" she said. LeBlanc stared at her for a couple of seconds before laugh out loud, fortunately not dragging the attention from neither Luna nor Camelia. Then he placed a hand on Prue's shoulder.

"Camelia didn't lie when she said you're like a potato about this things" he said with a smile. "Let's say I like her in a more... intimate way, I guess? I like her like something more than a friend, get it? But let's drop the thing for now".

Prue opted for leave in peace the boy while she meditated, not giving a care about the class when it began. If she was understanding it in the correct way, Alfred wanted to have a relationship with Pamela like those that had the students from fifth year and more. Those things about holding hands, smooch, and sneak into empty rooms to do God knows what. She wrinkled her nose and looked at Draco and Pansy. Maybe those two liked each other?

Professor Sprout soon started to pair them and sent them to collect Bouncing Bulbs at the east Greenhouse, promising extra points to the first to end the job. Camelia immediately grabbed Prue by the wrist and dragged her all the way. Taking advantage of the fact that they were all alone, Prue decided that she couldn't bear so much confusion. She had a lot of questions and at the same tame so few, but in those moments, only one question came to her mind.

"How does it feel when you like someone?"

Camelia wasn't ready for that, principally because Prue had never shown any kind of interest towards issues about the heart. So she dropped a Bulb she just catched, which Prue took and threw at a bag.

"Oh, mmm... It's weird" said Camelia, thinking hard how to explain it to the black-haired. "I'm not sure how to tell you how it feels, but I can tell you what happens with you".

Prue tilted her head in her typical gesture of curiosity.

"Well. First, you feel like you can get your eyes off of them, y'know?" she started, happily, "as if he steals your whole attention, as if nobody else is there. You also feel nervous around them. And then... then you find yourself thinking about them in the most crazy moments. Although I guess that just happens when you're falling for someone" she added. Prue didn't answer, and they continued with their search.

"What's the difference? Between liking and falling in love, I mean" inquired the teen after a while.

"I believe it's mainly that when you fall in love you want everything with that one, and when you like him... well I don't know, I guess that you simply do, but you don't want them with your or whatever" replied Camelia. Prue stared at her, and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I really don't know how to explain myself".

"You say it as if you actually liked someone" said her twin. Camelia blushed a bit.

"Truthfully, yes. But c'mon, let's get over with this. You surely want the extra points" she said, managing to divert her attention.

 

†

 

By lunch time the young Slytherin rejected all invitations to have lunch with someone since she wanted to be alone. She wanted to think about the things. After her interrogation to Camelia, she started to note certain attitudes in her friends. Alfred and Parkinson corresponded to those things Camelia said about nervousness, since when they were with Anderson and Malfoy respectively, Prue noticed some tics, anxious grins and even awkward movements when the conversation died. However, Pamela and Draco acted without any kind of special reaction with the others. This, thought Prue, didn't mean anything since she didn't know Anderson enough and as long as she could remember, Draco was always cool around everyone. That left her with the doubt about it being something more between them or not, but in any case she wasn't as interested by it as before; no, her mind was obsessing about who Camelia liked. The problem was that Camelia was always so calm around anyone because of her great confidence.

She had already ate her third plate of mashed potatoes when her spoon fell from her hand. What if she herself was liking someone and she hadn't even noticed? The idea excited her, and her obsessive mind started searching all around the Great Hall for someone, anyone. But the more she turned her head to one side and the other, the more her rush died, since nobody catched her attention, nodoby made her feel nervous. She sighed, slightly sad. Maybe she was really heart-dead, just like her parents once screamed to her.

The doors of the Great Hall were suddenly crossed by Snape, who waved his robe with fury. Prue's attentive eyes followed him, self-absorbed. Her breath trembled; how she loved to see him walk, specially because of the way his robes moved. She stared at him while he took a sit, and she continued with that until he sensed someone staring and looked in her direction. Just like last night, Prue almost didn't have enough time to look away, nervous about him finding out it was her who was staring.

She soon ended her mashed potatoes, and decided she was just being ridiculous and that looking for someone she liked was just a stupid waste of time. Thus, she retrieved her things and walked to her next class, not noticing the pair of black eyes that followed all of her movements, just as she had done with the owner of them.


End file.
